Anything Can Happen
by AlphaWriter1
Summary: Rachel Berry knows that her crush on Noah Puckerman is senseless, but she can't help her ironic attraction to his bad-boy persona. Noah Puckerman knows he and Rachel Berry belong to two very different worlds, but he can't help but focus on their similarities. Watch as the tale of Puckleberry unfolds, shaking up McKinley High School one glee club member at a time.


**Anything Can Happen  
A Glee Fan Fiction Series  
Chapter 1: Sweet Disposition **

_**A/N: I'm back with a new Puckleberry story that's going to be a whole lot different from anything I've done before. Don't get too worried about the allusions to Baby Gate, as this story will not be featuring that plot line. At least, not in the way that's expected. This story is my take on Glee, from the very beginning. It's going to have aspects of the canon woven into my tale. I hope you all enjoy it.**_

* * *

"You do realize that turning Sandy in made you public enemy number one in the glee community, right?"

Kurt Hummel twirled around, rolling out from behind his best friend's open locker door as Rachel Berry swung it shut, jumping backwards from the surprise of her best-and only-friend leaning against the metal, arms crossed over his chest and perfectly plucked eyebrows raised. As Rachel took a deep breathe, trying to compose herself, she placed her hands on her hips and tried to maintain an edge of confidence, even though she knew that he was right.

Still, even though she knew that her fellow glee club members hated her for turning in their predatory, homosexual teacher for his inappropriate relationship with Hank Saunders, she also knew that she had been right with her choice to report him to the administration for his conduct. It wasn't because Sandy Ryerson had given Hank a solo that Rachel believed she rightfully deserved. At least, it wasn't _just _because of that.

No, she had been trying to defend Hank, because Rachel hadn't realized that he had been actively involved in a relationship with Sandy, resulting in his own transferring from McKinley High School, along with Sandy's resignation.

"Are you implying that I did the wrong thing?" Rachel wondered, staring up at Kurt from beneath her full eyelashes, twirling a strand of dark chocolate hair around her fingertips, pulling it forward despite the stark right headband she had pulling it back.

"Of course, I think you made the right decision," Kurt rolled his glasz colored eyes towards his perfectly styled, chestnut brown hair. "I'm just reminding you that the friends you may have thought you'd gained from glee club may think otherwise, knowing that you're the reason the club has been dismantled," he pointed out.

"If they're going to be angry with me for ruining a dead-end club because I was trying to do the right thing, were they ever really my friend?" Rachel shot back.

"Fair enough," Kurt allowed, flashing her one of his patented grins that made it impossible for her not to smile back.

And as the pair walked down the hallway, they began to laugh, bursting into a round of hysterics. Their arms were intertwined with one another as Rachel leaned against her tall and lanky friend, her head resting on his shoulder.

However, their happiness came to a sudden end as Noah Puckerman, David Karofsky and Azimio Adams walked pass the pair in their typical formation-Puck in the center, walking a few steps in front of the others. Karofsky and Azimio were walking off of each of Puck's shoulders. Each boy was dressed in a pair of loose fitting, faded jeans that hung just right on their hips, a white V-neck tee shirt and their football letterman jackets.

Each of them clutched a slushy in their hands as they talked and joked, knowing they didn't need to pay attention as they walked because all eyes would be on them. They were, after all, three of the most popular boys in school as each maintained a place on the starting lineup of the football team-which, despite having never won a game in the past five seasons, proudly held a spot at the top of the social food chain.

Typically, Rachel and Kurt would have been well aware of the trio approaching, so that they could have properly prepared. However, they were so caught up in their own little world that they failed to notice the popular boys approaching.

So, when Karofsky swung his cherry slushy at the pair, covering them in the flavored ice, they were taken by complete surprise, which would have never happened if they had seen them coming. After all, slushy facials were a typical part of the day for any student at McKinley who fell as low on the social food chain as Rachel and Kurt, or any of the other glee club members.

"Are you _kidding _me?" Kurt cried in outrage, stopping dead in his tracks as he reached up to wipe the slush from his eyes. "I _just _had a facial," he whined.

"I think my dads are going to press charges if I keep coming home like this," Rachel muttered, reaching over her shoulder to wring out her hair, knowing that caring about her outfit or trying to save it would be a severe disappointment.

Instead of the usual laughter that erupted whenever somebody tossed a slushy at one of the school nerds, a different kind of chaos followed.

Noah Puckerman was slamming Karofsky up against the lockers, holding him a few inches above the ground as his fist balled up the tee-shirt layered underneath his jacket. His scowling face was only a few inches away from Karofsky's and his words were coming out in a harsh growl, scaring even his best friend.

The scene between the football players, though, was another story from the scene between the two glee outcasts.

"Come on," Kurt sighed, wrapping an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "Let's go get you changed. I'm sure I've got _something _suitable in my stash," he assured her, guiding her towards the costume closet located next to the auditorium, where Kurt consistently stocked back-up outfits for himself, and by default Rachel, for whenever one of these incidents arose.

Rachel sighed, shooting a sad look over her shoulder at the mohawked boy who she had grown up with. She wasn't sure what had happened to the sweet boy she had been at Temple all those years ago, but she knew that he was long gone. Despite the family dinners between her two fathers and Puck's mother, Rachel knew that the niceties he played out in front of her fathers didn't exist outside of those nights.

Somehow, the friendship she had always thought was so solid with one of her few Jewish peers had disappeared. In its place was a new relationship, and it absolutely terrified Rachel to know that their new dynamic was a hunter and his prey. Puck was the bully and Rachel was his number one victim.

* * *

On the other side of the hallway, Noah Puckerman had David Karofsky dangling above the ground, the toes of his Converse sneakers just barely skimming the ground. His tee-shirt was balled up in Puck's fist as he leaned in close to his teammate with the scariest of scowls on his place, eyebrows furrowed together and eyes as narrow as they could possibly get.

"What did I tell you about throwing slushies at Berry?" he growled.

"I wasn't throwing one at Rupaul," Karosky rolled his eyes. "I was throwing it at Porcelain. She was just collateral damage," he smirked.

"I'm going to punch that stupid smirk right off your face if I _ever _see Rachel become collateral damage again, you hear me?" Puck snarled, dropping Karofsky onto the ground and smirking as he stumbled, struggling to keep his balance.

"What does it matter to you if I slushy her?" Karosky asked, straightening his tee shirt as he looked anywhere but at the taller football player.

"She's a fellow Jew," Puck shrugged off the question, refusing to actually give him an answer. "And her dads are close with my mom. I don't need a lecture when they complain to her at Synagogue on Saturday. So, just lay off of her and watch your aim, okay?" He snapped, keeping up his tough guy image to avoid any further questioning.

"Are you sure you don't have the hots for Man Hands?" Azimio snickered.

"Can you two stop encouraging Satan's nicknames for her?" Puck groaned, throwing his head back.

"Since when do you defend the Queen of the Gleeks?" Azimio shot back.

"He just told you" Finn Hudson joined in on the conversation. "His mom and her dads are friends. You know how her dads are. Puck'll never hear the end of it if they go whining to his mom about how we treat her," the quarterback pointed out, approaching the group.

As the six-foot three football player stood over them, Puck knew that the other two were going to listen to him. Puck might have the intimidation factor of being the toughest bad-ass in the school, but Finn had a different type of social currency. While Puck put the fear of god into everybody at school, getting him whatever he wanted as everybody listened to him, Finn had the respect of everybody at McKinley.

People actually _liked _Finn, because he was nice. He was so naively innocent that he was almost a complete idiot, but it was enduring. That was why he was the quarterback-people listened to him.

Sometimes, the fact that they stood at an equal place in the social hierarchy for such different reasons made Puck bitter. Sometimes he was jealous that people actually liked his best friend, whereas they only tolerated him to avoid being on the opposite end of his fist. After all, they had grown up in similar environments.

Finn's father had died when he was young, leaving Finn with barely any memories of the man who remained his hero. His single mother worked hard to support Finn and give him anything he needed and as much of what he wanted as she could make possible.

Puck's father had abandoned the family when Puck's mother was pregnant with his younger sister. Puck wasn't sure what had made him finally call it quits for good, rather than one of his short-term disappearances, but he remembered his parents fighting about another child-one that Puck knew his mother hadn't given birth to. All he really knew was that his father had left without looking back and his mother had to raise two kids on her own, working around the clock to make ends meet with how little their father left them with and the non-existent support he offered the family.

So, two very similar situation, but two very different outcomes had occurred.

"FINN! WALK ME TO CLASS!"

But, whenever Puck heard Quinn Fabray scream at Finn and give him another ridiculous command that he rushed off to meet, Puck was relieved about the different outcomes that had occurred. Noah Puckerman might not be the golden boy, but that meant he didn't have to worry about keeping the golden girl happy.

As long as he remained the school's bad boy with the scary mohawk and the broad shoulders and huge biceps, he didn't have to worry about things like being an ideal boyfriend. He didn't need to make anybody proud, because nobody was expecting very much of anything from him. And maybe that was discouraging a lot of the time, but when it kept him away from girls like Quinn, he was thoroughly satisfied.

Still, the blonde-haired cheerleader and he shared a secret that he knew she would never want anybody to know. They had had their moment where he had swooped in and tried to act as her hero, and he knew that he was going to end up regretting that in the long run, but in the heat of the moment, he had found it impossible.

Not because he actually cared about her.

Not because he wanted her to think highly of him.

No, Puck had stepped in to act as the hero because he had felt like he owed it to his best friend to take care of the girl he loved, because Finn was always looking out for Puck.

Just like he had when he had approached the trio of football players, knowing that Puck was in just a tad over his head.

Because while Finn didn't know the real reason that Puck was so protective over Rachel, he knew that Puck didn't want to see her hurt. Finn understood that there was a reason Puck cared about what happened to her, so he would blindly support Puck's requests to leave Rachel alone and choose another victim.

And that was exactly what Puck needed, because he'd rather die than have anybody know that he had a crush on Rachel Berry.

* * *

"Please tell me that this slushy attack had at least one positive outcome," Kurt Hummel sighed in exasperation as he dropped down into a chair in the costume closet, waiting for Rachel to finish fixing her hair and makeup.

"How could this slushy attack have any sort of positive outcome?" Rachel sighed, giving up on trying to make her curly locks appear full and glossy and twisting her hair into a sloppy, high ponytail with a few strands falling into her face.

"Besides the effect it had on your outfit?" Kurt teased.

Before the attack, Rachel had been dressed in an olive green, pleated mini skirt with a stark white button down, rolled to be three-quarter sleeves. She had a pair of white knee socks on, with olive green flats completing the look. Now that Kurt had worked his magic, she was dressed in a white and black, A-line plaid skirt with a black mock knock tank top tucked neatly into it, emphasizing her full chest. A pair of black, high heeled ankle boots completed her outfit and Kurt couldn't be prouder of his masterpiece.

"Why would I bother to wear cute outfits if I know I'm just going to get a slushy tossed in my face?" Rachel shot back.

"Touché," Kurt nodded, handing Rachel her backpack as she turned away from the mirror, ready to head back into the crowded hallways. "But what I was actually talking about was the fact that I was hoping this incident got you over your ridiculous crush on Noah Puckerman," he said pointedly, raising a single eyebrow at her accusingly.

"Why is it okay for you to have a crush on Finn Hudson, but you critique me for my feelings for Noah?" Rachel sighed.

"Because while the other football players are tossing me into dumpsters, Finn is holding onto my designer bags and coats, whereas Puck tosses a slushy into your face daily," Kurt reminded her.

"That's not entirely true," Rachel pointed out. "Noah might toss a slushy in my general direction, but it's never actually hit me head on. Maybe it ruins my shoes, but he's never actually slushied me before. And you saw what he just did with Karofsky. That's how he reacts whenever anybody actually does hit me with a slushy," she reminded him.

"Rachel, you are never going to convince me that it's appropriate for you to have a crush on Noah Puckerman, because this isn't an 80's movie. We don't live in the _Breakfast Club, _and the good girl does _not _end up with the bad boy. Especially when said bad boy is sleeping with the female equivalent of the devil, which just so happens to be her namesake," Kurt insisted as the pair made their way down the hallway.

"It's not any more appropriate for you to have a crush on Finn Hudson, who not only happens to be very straight, but who also happens to be very committed to his girlfriend," Rachel fought back.

"His girlfriend is the president of the celibacy club. That just screams _beard _to me," Kurt shrugged his shoulders.

"Because she wants to remain abstinent?" Rachel chuckled.

"That's not the problem," Kurt shook his head. "The problem is that no straight high school guy is going to date a girl who looks like Quinn Fabray, knowing that she isn't going to put out, unless they don't care about getting lucky," Kurt explained.

"That's not true," Rachel insisted. "Maybe he honestly loves her and doesn't mind waiting because he knows it's the real deal."

"He's a sixteen-year-old boy," Kurt deadpanned.

"Can we both just agree to let one another have our ridiculous crushes? It doesn't matter if Finn is straight or not. It doesn't matter if Noah is a bully or a secret, nice guy. We're in the Glee club and we're losers. Neither one of us is ever going to get their attention," Rachel shook her head.

"Noah Puckerman should consider himself lucky that you've got a crush on him. You're brilliant. You're talented. And you are gorgeous-with a killer body, so long as we've got you dressing to show off the booty you work so god damn hard for and the rack that you were so blessed with," Kurt said, bumping his shoulder against hers.

"Kurt!" Rachel giggled, her cheeks tinging with a light blush.

"Are you laughing because I just hit on you or because you don't know how to take a compliment?" he teased her.

"I'm laughing because everything you just said sounds so ridiculous coming from your mouth," Rachel stuck her tongue out at him.

"As compelling as this conversation has been-I need you to tell me that I'm not going insane right now and confirm that you're seeing the same thing on that bulletin board that I'm seeing," Kurt threw his arm out, stopping her from walking any further as he stopped in his own tracks, eyes locked on the bulletin board in front of them, growing into the size of saucers as they glossed over with excitement. His face broke out into a wide grin that threatened to consume his entire face and Rachel frowned in confusion for a second before following his gaze, squinting at the sign that was hanging front and center.

Rachel knew immediately what Kurt was so excited about, and her own heart swelled up at the presence of the clipboard asking for members to sign up for the _new _Glee Club, referred to as the New Directions and to be directed by Mr. Shuester, their Spanish teacher who didn't seem to be the most dedicated to the language.

However, Rachel did know that he had been in Glee Club when he was in high school, and that his own team had won at Nationals when he was a member. That meant that he knew what he was talking about. It meant that, for the first time in years, the McKinley High School Glee Club might actually stand a chance in competition because they finally had a director who not only gave a shit about them, but who knew what it took to be successful.

"Well, I guess you should all be thanking me for getting rid of Sandy," Rachel said, flashing Kurt a mischievous grin as her eyes sparkled with anticipation for all that was to come.

* * *

Quinn Fabray had a picture-perfect life.

She was wealthy, at least for a family living in Lima, Ohio. Her family was upper-middle class, meaning she knew she was already well ahead of most of her classmates in terms of entitlement. She was blonde, thanks to the hundreds of dollars her parents poured into her hair maintenance. She was thin, with curves in just the right places. She maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA, was president of the celibacy club, and in the National Honor Society. And she was _popular, _thanks to her spot at the top of the cheerleading pyramid, because of her title as captain of the Cheerios.

Oh, and she was dating the golden boy of their high school.

With Finn Hudson, quarterback of the football team, on her arm, she knew that she was an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.

Sure, it was lonely at the top, since her only real friend was her boyfriend, but it was all going to be worth it when she was crowned Prom Queen. It would all be worth it when she got her acceptance letter from Harvard, Duke, Yale, Brown…._ anywhere _that would take her far away from Lima, Ohio.

And besides, because she was the queen bee, she had her loyal minions. If she used the term loyal as loosely as possible.

Santana Lopez was the jealous one. She was the one who would do anything to have Quinn's place at the top for herself. She was a snarky bitch and tough as nails. Nobody crossed Santana, and because she stood at Quinn's side through thick and thin, nobody messed with Quinn by default.

Brittany Pierce was the sweet one, but mostly because she was the dumbest person Quinn had ever met. She was nice, pure and innocent, but she never managed to fully gather what was actually going on around her.

Together, they made up the Unholy Trinity, and they ruled McKinley High School with an iron fist, the four most popular boys in school wrapped around their perfectly manicured fingers, as Brittany enjoyed her relationship with Mike Change and Santana bounced back and forth between Matt Rutherford and Noah Puckerman like a ping-pong ball. Quinn kept Finn under her thumb, wrapping the stars of the football team up nicely.

"Something's going on with Puckerman," Santana snarled.

Quinn jumped as Santana suddenly appeared besides her. However, she wasn't jumping because Santana had startled her when she had approached. Instead, she was jumpy because of what Santana had said.

Because if Santana knew about the secret that Quinn and Puck shared, she would destroy Quinn in an instant, and she would do it with a smile on her face.

She'd do it because she would see Quinn's momentary weakness. She would do it because of her desire to be at the top of the social pyramid. She'd do it because she longed for an opportunity to destroy Quinn Fabray and take everything the blonde had built for herself for her own. And she would do it because Santana was a jealous and petty person. If Santana saw that something that she wanted was involved with somebody else, she would do anything to get what she wanted back into her grasp as quickly as possible.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she lowered her emerald green eyes towards the floor, attempting to regain her composure until she was able to figure out what Santana was talking about.

"I _mean," _Santana huffed, tightening her glossy, raven black ponytail. "That he's been acting bizarre. Suddenly he's all about protecting _Berry,_ and trying to keep her _happy,"_ she went on, sighing as she leaned against the locker besides Quinn's own.

Quinn resisted the urge to release a sigh of relief.

Santana didn't know about the secret that the blonde shared with the mohawked teenage boy. That meant that Quinn was safe.

"Yeah, Finn mentioned that," Quinn nodded, slamming her locker shut and turning around, leaning against the cool metal so that she and Santana faced the same direction. "Something about his mom being friends with RuPaul's dads, so he has to be nice to her," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Since when does Puckerman care about getting into trouble?" Santana challenged.

"I don't think he cares about that," Quinn frowned. "You know that he's a momma's boy, Santana," she reminded the Latina.

"I guess you've got a point," Santana nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "But how do you explain the fact that he ended things with me?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at the blonde.

Quinn froze for a second, hating herself for fighting the urge to smile at the thought.

She shouldn't be excited that Puck and Santana were no longer together, because she had Finn. No matter what had happened between herself and Puck in the past, it didn't matter. She shouldn't be excited at the prospect that Puck was ending his friends-with-benefits-relationship with Santana so that he could pursue the blonde cheerleader.

After all, ending things with the she-devil that was Santana didn't guarantee her anything. It didn't mean that Puck had an interest in anybody else, let alone Quinn.

"And specifically told me that it was because he's into somebody else," Santana pouted.

And Quinn couldn't help it. Her face broke out into a wide grin and she hated herself for feeling that surge of excitement.

"Well," Quinn said slowly, forcing the corners of her mouth down into a thoughtful pout. "I think that we know how to handle a situation like this," she smirked.

"What did you have in mind?" Santana asked, whirling around to smile at Quinn with that devious smirk she was so famous for, her eyes sparkling with excitement at the thought of destroying Rachel Berry.

* * *

Noah Puckerman was well aware of the fact that Quinn thought that the pair had slept together. He knew that she had no idea what had actually happened at that post-party game. But, because he knew that the truth would absolutely destroy her and cause Finn more trouble than it was worth, he refused to tell her the truth.

Besides, it wasn't like Quinn was ever going to try to talk to him about what she thought had happened.

That would ruin everything for her, the same way it would ruin everything for him.

The only difference was that if Quinn tried to talk about what had happened between her and Puck-or, what she _thought_ had happened between the pair-she would be the only one damaged in the end. Maybe not her reputation, although with the way students at McKinley gossiped, it most likely would still ruin her status as the celibate queen bee. But Quinn would be the one emotionally destroyed, regardless of whether people judged her for what had occurred.

Puck, on the other hand, would come out as a hero. For the first time in his life, he would be the hometown hero who had done the right thing. He would be the one who helped the damsel in distress. He would be the dependable guy, and nobody could say anything bad about him for what had happened.

Of course, that was only if his versions of the events of that night-the _truth-_was the version that was believed by everybody else in the school.

If Quinn's version was the one that was believed by everybody, he was royally screwed in the same way that she would be screwed. Her version of the truth, based on the few selected memories she had of that night, would result in both of them being sent to social Siberia for the rest of their high school existence.

And with Puck's luck-with his reputation-Quinn's story was going to be the one that spread like wildfire.

So, it was better for the both of them if they continued to live in their awkward state whenever they were forced to interact with one another. It was better if they never discussed what had happened and Quinn never heard the truth. It was better if she went on thinking the terrible things that she thought about him.

_Besides, _he thought to himself, as Rachel Berry made her way past, giggling with Kurt Hummel in one of her impossibly short skirts, _it's not like I really care what __**Quinn **__thinks about me anyways. _

However, if Rachel Berry harbored any ill thoughts about him, that would be enough to destroy him, because he happened to care very much about what his fellow hot Jew thought about him. While he might not care about anybody else at school, he did care about what his hot little Jewish American princess thought about him.

It was better for everybody, then, if Quinn went on believing what she wanted to believe about that night.

* * *

Santana Lopez happened to know the truth about that night.

She also happened to know what Quinn thought had happened that night.

And she knew that neither Noah Puckerman nor her blonde haired best friend knew that she was aware of the truth.

She also happened to know that the knowledge she contained was enough to boost Puckerman's status at the school and destroy Quinn's reputation.

Without any intention on their own parts, they had handed her what she had always wanted-an opportunity to become the head bitch in control at McKinley. She'd have the _new _golden boy on her arm, and her rightful place at the top.

Yet, knowing how horrific the truth actually was and what it would mean for Quinn's emotional and mental state, Santana couldn't bring herself to start whispering the rumor around. Maybe she was jealous of the blonde, but it didn't make their friendship ay less real.

Santana didn't have many friends. She had Brittany Pierce, but sometimes the two girls crossed the thin line they had drawn between friendship and romantic entanglement. She had Mike Chang, because he was Brittany's loyal and loving boyfriend who didn't seem bothered by the pair of best friends occasionally making out. And then she had Matt Rutherford, who was good for a hookup whenever Santana was bored, and great to vent to when she needed a listening ear. Noah Puckerman, despite their rocky sexual relationship, truly was her best friend, because she knew they could talk about anything-which is why she _hated _that he wouldn't just admit his pathetic little crush on Rachel Berry.

But Quinn was different.

She didn't want Santana in a sexual way. She didn't want _anything _from Santana.

She just wanted somebody to go shopping with. Somebody to ditch class with and grab iced lattes or takeout for lunch. She wanted somebody to have sleepovers with and braid one another's hair and all those other dorky things that Santana would never admit enjoying participating in.

Maybe their friendship had started off as something convenient for the both of them, but it had quickly developed into something real.

And because of that, no matter how big of a bitch Santana might be, she couldn't bring herself to intentionally do something that was going to ruin Quinn Fabray. Not if it was going to break her spirit.

Taking away her title or her status was one thing.

Taking away her happiness was another thing entirely.

No, maybe it wasn't fair to Quinn or to Puck to keep things a secret, but it wasn't Santana's place to tell anybody.

It wasn't her place to tell Quinn what had really happened.

It wasn't her place to confront Puck about it.

And besides, while she was angry with Puckerman for lying to her about the reason for the breakup, she really did want him to be happy, the same way that she wanted Quinn to be happy. And she was pretty certain that her newest plan would permit them both to be happy, getting the happily ever after they both deserved, and Santana craved for herself so desperately.

If she couldn't have her own happiness, she'd just have to settle on giving that to her friends.


End file.
